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  3. Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting

une admiration de l’œuvre forçant à l’abandon

English translation: an uninhibited admiration (for the work)

17:15 Oct 18, 2008
French to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting
French term or phrase: une admiration de l’œuvre forçant à l’abandon
On art historian Jacob Burckhardt (1891-1974). I've been researching him and his works to try and glean some meaning out of this, but still am having trouble with this sentence. Any brainstorming ideas are more than welcome.
Many thanks in advance!

L’auteur exigeait du spectateur moderne ce qu’il y avait de plus difficile, une remémoration, une actualisation du contexte historique et des caractéristiques temporelles de l’art, alliées à une admiration de l’œuvre forçant à l’abandon.
French Foodie
Local time: 13:45
English translation:an uninhibited admiration (for the work)
Explanation:
I think that what Burckhardt wanted was for the spectator to look at his work armed with the knowledge of its context and yet to be able to respond to it in a primitive fashion despite that knowledge. To behave in with 'abandon' often indicated without morals or sensually, but 'uninhibited' should suffice.
Selected response from:

roisin56
France
Local time: 13:45
Grading comment
All answers were extremely helpful. Thank you very much.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1[allied with/coupled with] an admiration of the work to the point of abandon.
Helen Shiner
3 +1an out and out, unfettered admiration of the art
lundy
3 +1overwhelming admiration
SJLD
4an uninhibited admiration (for the work)
roisin56


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


30 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
[allied with/coupled with] an admiration of the work to the point of abandon.


Explanation:
Burckhardt took a view different amongst art historians/aestheticians of his period many of whom concentrated on aesthetics, to put it simply. He said as your sentence makes clear, that to understand a painting you must also have an understanding of the historical, cultural, socio-politcal context of the work. So here he is saying that it is all well and good to admire a painting to the point of abandon, but you also have to consider these other elements.
"Jacob Christoph Burckhardt (May 25, 1818, Basel, Switzerland – August 8, 1897, Basel) was a Swiss historian of art and culture, and an influential figure in the historiography of each field. He is known as one of the major progenitors of cultural history[1], albeit in a form very different from how cultural history is conceived and studied in academia today. Siegfried Giedion described Burckhardt's achievement in the following terms: "The great discoverer of the age of the Renaissance, he first showed how a period should be treated in its entirety, with regard not only for its painting, sculpture and architecture, but for the social institutions of its daily life as well."[2] Burckhardt's best known work is The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy (1860)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Burckhardt

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Note added at 31 mins (2008-10-18 17:46:41 GMT)
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Sorry that should read 'different from ...'

Helen Shiner
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:45
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 348

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Philippa Smith
17 mins
  -> Thanks, Philippa
neutral  SJLD: but why "forçant" ?
2 hrs
  -> My sense of it is that this is a wry comment on those aesthetes who feel that without such a response an image is not considered interesting or good - forçant conveying a sense of obligation - ie one is obliged to respond in this as an appreciator of art.
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35 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
an out and out, unfettered admiration of the art


Explanation:
I think that what he is saying is that Burckhardt expected the spectator to take on board all historical context of a painting, for instance, and at the same time engage in untrammelled admiration of the work, a notion quite new for his 19th century readers. For example his classic "The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy" is ground-breaking in that he views the art of that period against a background of the State, the development of the individual etc., and not just essentially "religious art" full stop.

lundy
France
Local time: 13:45
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Sandra Mouton
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, Sandra
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23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
overwhelming admiration


Explanation:
Poor you - it doesn't make much sense to me either. I presume it is the "spectateur" who is "forcé à l'abandon" - forced to give up (what?) because the author is too "exigeant"?
It's not really clear what is the subject of "forçant à l'abandon" either.
Good luck!

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Note added at 3 hrs (2008-10-18 20:30:28 GMT)
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pushed to the limit?

SJLD
Local time: 13:45
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 26
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you for your kind support, especially on a weekend. What is more, this is the only sentence in the text about Burckhardt, so there is no further indication of what the "spectateur" is forced to give up... Humph!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mapleton
12 hrs
  -> thanks :-)
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
an uninhibited admiration (for the work)


Explanation:
I think that what Burckhardt wanted was for the spectator to look at his work armed with the knowledge of its context and yet to be able to respond to it in a primitive fashion despite that knowledge. To behave in with 'abandon' often indicated without morals or sensually, but 'uninhibited' should suffice.

roisin56
France
Local time: 13:45
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
All answers were extremely helpful. Thank you very much.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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